1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of rendering a graphic at an input position on a screen, or removing a graphic rendered at the position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent portable devices such as digital cameras or mobile phones having a camera enable a user to add various effects to a captured image or moving image. A mobile phone, for example, allows the user to place icons such as graphics, handwritten characters, and the like on a captured image, attach the generated image to an e-mail message, and then transmit it to another user. In recent years, some of the above-described portable devices adopt a touch panel display as a display device, thereby enabling the user to more intuitionally place graphics, characters, and the like on an image.
When placing a graphic within an image or moving image, the user may erroneously place the graphic at an undesired location. Some of the above-described devices, therefore, have a function of removing an already placed graphic. The above-described portable devices often have a small display device, and display only a limited number of menus such as recently used functions to make an image rendering region as large as possible. In such a portable device, to select a menu for removing a graphic and actually delete the graphic, the user needs to perform complicated operations.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-200133 has disclosed an input device which uses a pen-based user interface and switches between an input mode and a removal mode depending on a pen tip width.
Graphics placed within an image or moving image may overlap each other. If graphics overlap each other, it is difficult to view the graphics such that they are identifiable. More specifically, when animation is set for the placed graphics, it is difficult to identify the graphics, which may not give additional effects but cause user discomfort.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-188525 has disclosed the following technique. That is, when a new image is instructed to be placed at a position which falls within a region that has been set based on the shape of an image, prohibited from overlapping, of those placed within an image, the new image is controlled to be placed in a blank region other than that region.
When an input device switches between an input mode and a removal mode depending on a pen tip width as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-200133, however, the input device requires a special input user interface and, therefore, is not a general-purpose device.
When an image is placed in a blank region other than a region which has been set based on the shape of an image prohibited from overlapping as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-188525, the image is placed at a position different from that desired by the user and, therefore, the user may have the impression that it is inconvenient.